June 7, 2021 Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon State Capitol, Room 219
Senate Pro Tem Toni Atkins State Capitol, Room 205
RE: SUPPORT – FULLY FUNDED ZERO-TEXTBOOK COST DEGREE PROPOSAL IN GOVERNOR NEWSOM’S BUDGET Dear Speaker Rendon and Pro Tem Atkins, We are writing in support of fully funding Governor Newsom’s proposed allocation of Proposition 98 funds for the California Community College (CCC) System’s Zero-Textbook Cost (ZTC) Degree program. In 2016, $5 million was included in the budget for the ZTC Degree program. It allowed 23 colleges to build 34 degree or certificate pathways which were entirely free of a textbook cost. It was an unqualified success. These 34 pathways saved over 23,000 students more than $42 million--a more than 8x return on investment. ZTC has been shown to boost student performance and ensure the cost of textbooks is not a barrier to success and completion for California’s community college students. The Governor’s proposed funding package for ZTC would profoundly impact students across the state, and those most in need. Among the benefits is a strategic expansion of the previous pilot program. Technical leads from the first ZTC deployment believe the Governor’s proposal could produce an estimated 240 ZTC degree and certificate pathways. It would also provide needed training and support for staff and administrators to ensure the program’s success – among many other benefits. With 7 in 10 community college students reporting being food or housing insecure, savings generated by ZTC programs make a critical difference in their ability to continue their studies. Recent surveys have shown that 25% of college students needed to work extra hours to afford course materials. 19% said that they decided what course to take based on the cost of materials. Those costs forced one in nine students surveyed to skip meals. These stresses are only greater since the onset of the pandemic.